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PLANT OF THE MONTH
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Wild strawberry offers pollinators early season nectar and pollen.
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As plants and animals emerge from winter, one of the earliest local wildflowers to bloom is wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana). In early spring, toothy, three-lobed leaves sprout from stems 10-15 centimetres tall. Dainty, white, five-petaled flowers with bright yellow centres follow soon after.
Attracting some of the earliest pollinators, the flower petals feature nectar guides: lines and patterns that direct insects to a flower’s nectar. The nectar guides of wild strawberry are invisible to humans but visible to bees, who can see ultraviolet light. Watch for visiting sweat bees, cuckoo bees, mason bees and others, as well as syrphid flies, small butterflies, skippers and moths.
Tiny fruit appear in late May or early June. Birds, such as robins and eastern towhees, and small mammals may visit for a snack, but you can also pick the fruit to eat fresh or to make a tasty treat such as wild strawberry jam.
Typically found in fields and forest edges growing in full sun or part shade, wild strawberry can withstand salt, drought and compaction, making it great for most urban yards. It's excellent for borders or edging, filler for rock gardens or as ground cover, and also looks great spilling over the edge of a container or planter.
Plants will spread by sending out runners that sprawl across the soil. Allow them to roam, or clip back before runners grow roots. Leaves stay green all growing season, providing great ground cover on their own or combined with other low-growing native plants like prairie smoke and nodding onion.
To discover more pollinator friendly plants, download our pollinator plant list.
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DID YOU KNOW
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Strict blue-eyed-grass adds colour to your lawn.
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Now that the weather is (finally) starting to warm up, queen bumble bees are coming out of hibernation and red admiral butterflies are arriving home after their long migration from the southern states. With many plants not yet in bloom, these pollinators feed on the nectar and pollen of early blooming plants, like red maple, willows and spring ephemerals.
Increasing early spring blooms in your yard is one way you can support early pollinators. Here are three ways you can incorporate these flowers into your yard or garden.
Add blooming natives to your lawn
Add diversity and a splash of colour by allowing low-growing plants like wild strawberry, strict blue-eyed-grass and common silverweed to spread throughout your lawn. These plants provide important nectar and pollen for bees and butterflies. Practice No Mow May to allow flowers to bloom.
Reduce your lawn
Extend garden beds or create new ones. Plant a variety of native plants, like early blooming prairie smoke and Canada anemone in sunny areas and bloodroot and sharp-lobed hepatica in shade. Make sure to also include plants that bloom later in the season to continue helping pollinators in summer and fall.
Convert to a low-maintenance lawn
If your lawn doesn’t have heavy foot traffic, you can create a beautiful tapestry lawn of different colours and textures by planting masses of native ground covers, like Pennsylvania sedge, common blue violet and wild ginger.
If you need space for kids or pets to run around, try seeding your lawn with a low-maintenance eco-lawn seed mixture. These are usually made up of non-native fescues and tend to grow slower and need less water.
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CARING FOR YOUR YARD
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Common silverweed grows less than 20 centimetres tall and can tolerate light foot traffic.
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Low-growing ground covers are ideal for planting along a garden border. They support taller plants, preventing them from flopping over the garden edge, while allowing them to remain visible. They’re also a great way to gradually expand your garden to replace high-maintenance lawn with attractive, pollinator-friendly habitat.
When adding ground covers to your garden, use potted plants instead of seed. Plant ground covers closely together (approximately 15-20 centimetres apart) for faster establishment and quicker coverage. To reduce competition from weeds, keep bare soil between new plants covered with a six-to-eight-centimetre layer of mulched leaves or wood chips until the plants grow large enough to cover the ground. Periodic hand-weeding will still be required.
Common silverweed, common blue violet and wild strawberry are great native ground covers because they stay short, growing less than 20 centimetres tall, and spread well. These species can also tolerate light foot traffic and mowing, so let them spread beyond your garden into the lawn. Set your mower’s blades high to avoid cutting too much of the ground cover. Try to leave the blooms for hungry pollinators.
Discover more native ground covers for shade or sun, refer to CVC’s Woodland Plants for Landscaping and Prairie & Meadow Plants for Landscaping plant lists.
Photo: Melissa McMasters
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NEIGHBOURHOOD TREE GIVEAWAY
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Brighten your yard and your community with a free native tree or shrub.
Watershed residents in Fletchers Creek SNAP, Hungry Hollow SNAP and areas of Mississauga wards 4, 9 and 10 within CVC's boundaries can request one free tree or shrub that CVC’s home planting team will deliver and help plant.
Learn more and find out if you're eligible at cvc.ca/neighbourhood-tree-giveaway.
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EVENTS
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Nature Invaders Scavenger Hunt
June 24 to July 31, 2022
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This summer, join landowners from across the Credit River Watershed in an interactive invasive species scavenger hunt. Discover whether you have invasive species on your property, attend a free webinar, access great resources and get expert advice to help you stop the spread of problem plants in your yard and garden. Landowners who register and participate will be entered into a draw for a free native plant prize pack!
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Free Invasive Species Webinars
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Invasive Plants: Spot Them Early to Control Them Quickly
Tuesday, June 28, 7-8 p.m.
Learn how to identify the most common invasive plants in the watershed, how they spread, and techniques for stopping them from taking over your yard and garden.
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Top Invasive Insects in the Credit River Watershed
Thursday, July 14, 7-8 p.m.
Learn about invasive insects, such as woolly adelgid, spongy (LDD) moth and emerald ash borer. Find out what impact they have and what we can do to stop them.
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At Credit Valley Conservation, we create connections between people and nature, knowledge and action. We lead the protection, restoration and enhancement of our local natural environment, and we inspire a deep appreciation for the role of nature in keeping us connected, healthy and happy.
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